Scissor can opener



Sept. 20, 1955 F. BURNETT SCISSOR CAN OPENER Filed May 28, 1953 INVENTOR." F RED BURNETT ATT'YJ United States Patent SCISSOR CAN OPENER Fred Burnett, Waukegan, Ill.

Application May 28, 1953, Serial No. 358,219 6 Claims. c1. 30-155 (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec. 266) This invention relates to a scissor-operated ratchet can opener of the fulcrum or leverage type which does not require a wall mounting and may be operated by holding a can to be opened in one hand and the scissor opener in the other hand.

The usual type of can opener is attached to a wall or smooth stationary support, whereas the present invention relates to a hand-operated device which may be stored in a drawer and is easily operated, but develops high leverage requiring a minimum of force to open the can, and is easily assembled and taken apart for repair or replacement of the parts.

An important object of the invention is to provide a can opener of the fulcrum type which has a scissor-operated ratchet mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide a can opener of the scissor type having two handles operating the parts which clamp on a can top and in which the cutter is stationary and the can is moved in a circular direction by a gear operated by one of the scissor handles.

A further object of the invention is to provide a scissor can opener adapted to be clamped into engagement with the can top and operated by the fingers of one hand.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a can opener of the scissor-fulcrum type which is easy to assemble and develops the high leverage which requires a minimum of force to open the cans.

A still further object of the invention is to provide improvement means for locking operating parts in can-engaging position for the subsequent opening of the scissor-operating mechanism.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the specification and will be apparent from the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a scissor can opener in accordance with this invention with the parts shown in canclamping position and with one of the scissor handles in separated position with respect to the other.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1 but with the can-engaging parts withdrawn from an engaging position;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view as taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view as taken on the line 44 as shown in Fig. 1, and in engagement with a can top to be opened.

In operating this opener, the top of a can is perforated near its outer edge by moving the scissor parts together and perforating the can top with the cutter. With the parts then locked in this position, the operation of the scissor handles causes the movement of the can in a rotary direction against the cutter wheel which entirely or partially severs the can top from the rim of the can.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a scissor handle is connected to a long straight bar 12 and a scissor handle 14 to cooperate with the first handle has a short extension 16. Connected to the outer edge lit of the short extension 16 by means of a pivot 18 is a link 20 which is connected at its other end by a pivot 22 with the scissor handle 10 at the side of the handle adjacent its junction with the other handle 14. Also connected at one end of the pivot 18 is a locking bar 24, the other end of which is free from fixed engagement but carries a spring-locking latch 26 secured to the end of the bar 24 by a screw 28. The adjacent edge of the scissor handle 14 has a notch 30 engaged by the latch 26 which is released by turning the latch or pulling it out, so that by pressing the scissor handle 14 against the bar 24, it will be engaged by the latch, and the lock bar 24 will be connected to and movable with the scissor handle 14.

A bar 32 extending from the pivot 18 is a continuation of the locking bar 24, the other end of which is connected by a pivot 34 with a bracket 36 which is connected by a pivot 38 with the scissor bar 12 near its operating end. A cutter 40 is mounted on a boss 42 extending at a slight angle thereto, the cutter being preferably circular and adjustably secured to the boss by a screw or bolt 44 inserted centrally through the cutter and into the boss.

The bracket 36 has a loop or a hook 46 at its outer or free end for receiving the end of the bar 32 and allowing a pivoting or swivelling movement of the bracket and the bar therein as shown more clearly in Fig. 2.

A mounting plate 48 is firmly attached to the bracket 36 in any suitable manner as by means of the pivot 34 and a rivet 50 secured to the loop or hook 46. At the outer end of the mounting plate is a feeding wheel 52 at one side thereof having a knurled outer edge and a ratchet wheel 54 at the outer side with ratchet teeth thereon, both secured to a sleeve 56 which extends through the plate 48 and rotatable upon a pivoting bolt 57. At the outer side of the ratchet and also secured thereto by the pivot 57 is a keeper plate 58 with a bend 60 at its outer end to receive a ratchet bar 62 therein adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel 54 when it is drawn inwardly. This ratchet bar 62 also extends through the bottom of the loop 46 of the bracket 36, and at the end adjacent thereto, it is connected by a pivot 64 with one end of a link 66, the other end of which is connected by a pivot 68 with the scissor handle 14 at the outer side of the pivot 18 thereof.

With this construction, a can A having a beaded edge B and a top C as represented in Fig. 4 is pressed against the cutter wheel either separately or by the opening mechanism until the cutter perforates the edge of the can top close to the bead B. The outer edge of the bead which overlaps the can body is engaged by the feed wheel 52 when the feeding mechanism is swung upwardly by moving the scissor handle 14 together with the bar 24, 32 toward the other scissor bar 12. In this position as shown in Fig. 1, the pivot 18 is pressed over a line joining the two outer pivots 34 and 22 so that the bar 24, 32 tends to remain in the position shown in Fig. 1.

When the scissor handle 14 is freed from its engagement with the bar 24 by releasing the latch 26, the scissor handle is free to rotate about the pivot 18 and in this position to actuate the ratchet bar 62 through its engagement with the link 66 moving the scissor handle 14 back and forth with respect to the scissor handle 10. By this means, the ratchet wheel 54 is actuated moving with it the knurled feeding wheel 52 which engages the outside of the bead and thereupon moves the can body in engagement with the cutter wheel 40. By continued movement, the top may be entirely or partially removed thereby opening the can sufliciently to remove the contents thereof.

In the can opening operation and with the cutter wheel 40 perforating the can at one point, the lower portion of the can A is firmly grasped in one hand and the movable scissor handle 14 is grasped by the fingers of the other hand with the thumb through the handle 10. When the handle 14 is reciprocated in the manner of a scissors, it is first rotated downwardly (Fig. 1) from pivot 18 moving the teeth of the ratchet bar 62 in the bend 60 of the keeper plate 58 free and reversely from engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 54. At this time the perforating engagement of the cutter wheel 40 through the can top and the frictional engagement of the knurled edge of the feeding wheel 52 as it is held by mounting plate 48, holds the ratchet wheel 54 against reverse movement with the reverse movement of the ratchet bar 62. The bracket 36 with its hook 46 pre vents the link 66 and the connected ratchet bar 62 from swinging outwardly at their joints and assists in guiding the ratchet bar.

When the scissor handle 14 is swung about the pivot 18 in the return direction, the link 66 is relatively raised (Fig. 1) in the bracket 36, also raising the connected end of the ratchet bar 62 and inclining it slightly upward in the keeper plate 58 so that its teeth are moved into the path of the teeth of the ratchet wheel 54. Continued closing movement of the handle 14 thus actuates the ratchet wheel and with it the feeding wheel 52 which partially rotates the can, and advances the cutter 40 around the can top in a step-by-step movement as the scissors action is repeated until the cover is completely severed. Thus, the scissor handle is positively moved by hand in both directions so that no return spring is required and no spring is necessary to press the ratchet bar 62 toward the ratchet wheel 54.

When the can top is severed, or nearly severed, the operation of the opener is stopped, and the top drops into the can or may be bent outwardly by the cutter 40, as in the operation of a wall-type opener, the can being held uprightly in one hand and the scissor opener in the other hand.

To release the operating mechanism, the bar 24, .32 is moved outwardly over the center line connecting pivots 22 and 34 either by pulling the bar 24, .32 outwardly or by moving the scissor handle 14 inwardly until its latch notch 30 is engaged by the latch 26 and then swinging the bar 24, 32 outwardly with the bar 32 (as shown in .Fig. 2), thus withdrawing the bracket 36 and swinging it rearwardly as caused by the link 20.

Because .of the high leverage which is easily operated by the scissor handles, a simple operation is provided such that the .can to be opened may be held in one end while the opener is held in the other hand during the opening operation. After a can has been opened, all of the operating parts may be readily separated and therefore may be .easily cleaned, and the .opener is substantially flat except for the slight projection of the cutter wheel, and it may be conveniently stored in a drawer or other container. If that portion of the cutter wheel which is exposed to operation becomes dull, the cutter may be :rotated to a new cutting position by means of the fastening bolt 44.

While a preferred embodiment of this invention has been described in detail, it should be regarded as an illustration .or example and not as a restriction or limitation therein as many changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for Governmental purposes without payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

I claim: .1. In a scissor can opener, a pair of handle members,

one with a long rigid bar carrying a cutter at the end opposite the handle, a bracket pivoted to the bar near the cutter, a knurled wheel and a ratchet wheel mounted in the bracket for joint rotation and movable with the bracket to and from a position adjacent the cutter, the second handle member having means connecting it to the first handle member and to the bracket for swinging movement with the bracket relative to the said bar and to the first handle member, and link means including a ratchet bar to engage the ratchet wheel connected to the second handle member and reciprocated to engage the ratchet wheel when the second handle member is swung to and fro relative to the first handle member.

2. In a scissor can opener according to claim 1, a link pivoted at one end to the first handle member and pivoted at the other end to the second handle member to swing the two handle members toward and bodily away from each other, means including a bar connected to the second handle member and to the bracket for swinging the bracket to move the said wheels adjacent the cutter, and latch means in engagement with this bar to engage the second handle member and to lock it to the first member and also locking the bracket with said wheel adjacent and in cooperative can-cutting relation to the cutter.

3. In a scissor can opener according to claim 1, the second handle member having a short bar at one end, a link pivoted to the short bar at one end and to the first handle member at its other end to swing the second handle member toward and from the first handle memher, a bar pivoted to the bracket at one end and to the short bar at the other end, and latch operated means to hold the pivoted end of the second handle member adjacent the first handle member when the bracket holds the said wheels adjacent the cutter and allows the second handle member to swing about its pivot to actuate the said ratchet bar and said wheels.

4. In a scissor can opener, a pair of handle members, the first one with a long rigid bar and the second with a short rigid bar, means mounting the short bar to swing bodily away from the first member and both handle members to swing to and fro relative to each other, a cutter mounted at the end of the long rigid bar opposite the handle, a bracket pivoted on the handle near the cutter, a knurled wheel and a ratchet *wheel fixed on the same axis in the bracket and movable thereby opposite the cutter, a ratchet bar to engage the ratchet wheel and slidable in the bracket, a link pivoted to the ratchet bar and to the second handle member to reciprocate the ratchet bar and operate the ratchet wheel when the second handle member is swung relative to the first handle member, and means connecting the bracket and the second handle member to move the bracketand said wheels toward and from the cutter when the said short bar is swung bodily toward and from the long bar.

5. In a scissor can opener according to claim 4, a pivot at the outer end of the short bar, a link connected to said pivot at one end and pivoted at its other end to the handle portion of the first member, the second handle member being rotatable about said pivot to reciprocate the ratchet bar and to swing the short bar away from and against the long bar.

6. In a scissor can opener according to claim 5, a link connected at one end to said pivot and pivoted at its other end to the bracket, and means to releasably lock the pivoted end of the second handle member against the long rigid bar but allowing the pivoting scissor movement of the two handle members by the fingers of one hand of an operator.

No references cited. 

